SANDY, Utah (Friday, April 14, 2017) – Real Salt Lake (1-3-2, 8th West) kicks off its 2017 Rocky Mountain Cup series with rival Colorado Rapids (1-2-1, 9th West) Saturday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in suburban Denver at 7:00 p.m. MT, the first road match for the club with new Head Coach Mike Petke at the helm.
Saturday’s game will be televised locally via KMYU (coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. MT on 2.2 air / 12 satellite / 643 Comcast HD) with David James and Brian Dunseth on the call, and can also heard live via RSL outlets ESPN700 AM (English radio coverage starts at 6:00 p.m. MT w/ Bill Riley, Jay Nolly, Spencer Warne & Jeremy Horton) & 102.3 FM / 1600 AM (Spanish, Fernando Hortal & Nelson Moran).
This weekend’s contest is the first of three RSL v. Colorado games during this 2017 Major League Soccer season, with RSL at home in the return match on Saturday, August 26, and back in Commerce City, Colo., during the penultimate league weekend on Sunday, October 15. All-time in Colorado, RSL owns a 4-9-5 record, being outscored by the Rapids 23/16, the Claret-and-Cobalt last winning at DSG Park in 2014, when a 10-man RSL side overcame a 46’ Aaron Maund red card to capture the full three points.
RSL Captain Kyle Beckerman (2005-07) and DF Chris Wingert (2005-07) join Petke (2005-08) as RSL personalities who once appeared in this rivalry with Colorado, which has won just two of the last 10 Rocky Mountain Cups, awarded to the series winner of the fan-created competition.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake @ Colorado Rapids – Sat., April 15, 2017
- Coverage Begins: 6:30 p.m. MT
- Local TV: KMYU – David James and Brian Dunseth
- English Radio: ESPN700 AM (6:00 p.m. MT) – Bill Riley, Jay Nolly, Spencer Warne & Jeremy Horton
- Spanish Radio: 102.3 La Gran D FM / 1600 AM – Nelson Moran & Fernando Hortal
- Online: The @RSLmatchday Twitter feed provides updates
Game Guide for Saturday’s RSL @ Colorado game Available Online
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and Colorado Rapids is available by clicking HERE.
Petke, the club’s fourth head coach in the last 13 Major League Soccer seasons, guided the club to a 3-0 home win over Vancouver in his debut last week. Slovakian MF Albert Rusnák scored his first MLS goal with what proved to be the game-winner early in a snowy second half, then assisted on goals by FW Yura Movsisyan – his third goal in the last four games – and MF Luke Mulholland – his second consecutive game with a goal – to help RSL snap a 12-game winless streak in MLS regular-season play. Rusnák was named MLS Player of the Week as RSL captured its first win since last August 26, when a 2-1 home win over Colorado pushed the club to No. 2 overall in the Supporters Shield race with seven games remaining.
Back on March 21, it was announced that world power Manchester United would visit Utah for the first time ever, facing RSL at Rio Tinto Stadium on Monday, July 17. RSL “Royalty” Season Ticket Members have exclusive access to this game, with the ability to secure their seats and/or extra tickets (limit of four) until next Monday, April 24. MT. Pro-rated 14-game Season Ticket packages for Real Salt Lake's 2017 campaign at Rio Tinto Stadium remain on sale; please visit www.RSL.com/tickets/royalty or call 844.Real.Tix for more information.
The Rio Tinto Stadium box office is open Mon.-Fri., 10a-6p; more information can be found online at www.RSL.com/Tickets. Current or interested RSL Royalty Season Ticket Members can purchase extra tickets at preferred pricing or gain assistance via the Fan Relations Hotline at 801-727-2702.
The 2017 Real Monarchs / USL season is ongoing, the third-year club becoming the first in USL to get off to a perfect 3-0-0 start. The Monarchs kicked off the year on the road with a 2-1 win March 25 in Portland, giving then-Monarchs and now new RSL Head Coach Mike Petke his first three points for the club. Last week saw newly-promoted Head Coach Mark Briggs’ debut in a 2-0 win over Phoenix last Saturday and a 5-3 win Thursday night at home against Reno, with the USL side facing Colorado Springs Switchbacks Saturday afternoon prior to the RSL at Colorado match. Season Tickets for the Real Monarchs third season are now on sale; please call 844.Real.Tix for more information.
Coming in late Summer, 2017, Real Salt Lake's regional training center opens in Herriman, Utah, approximately 20 minutes southwest of Rio Tinto Stadium. The $60 million facility will serve as the daily training home beginning in 2018 for both of the club's professional teams – RSL (MLS) and Real Monarchs (USL) – while centralizing the club's U-18, U-16 and future U-14 development academy youth selections. The Herriman campus will provide adjacencies for an on-site charter school opening this Fall, with STEM disciplines (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) for nearly 300 boys and girls. View a recent photo gallery of the Herriman progress HERE.
In mid-November in North Logan, Utah, RSL Owner Dell Loy Hansen broke ground on the first of a half-dozen regional training centers across Utah and Arizona to be built in the next 2-3 years. Each $5 million RTC houses a classroom, as well as an indoor and outdoor field, dedicated to fulfilling a curriculum consistent with the club's vision and mission for youth soccer training and education, and the continued development of both recreational and competitive pre-Academy (ages 7-12) initiatives across Utah and Arizona.
